U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 

BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY— BULLETIN No. 55. 

^ P L. O. HOWARD, Entomologist 

52.3 



THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 



PREPARED I'NDER THE DIRErXION OF THE ENTOJilOT.OfilST 
RY 

K. V. PHILLIPS, Pir. I)., 

I'J.r/ierl A/iiciillnri'il. 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

19 5. 




Gass ST Lo 

Book 1" ^'-^ 



^/ 



U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 

BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY— BULLETIN No. 55. // « 7. 7 

L. O. HOWARD, Entomologist 



^fy 



THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 



PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST 



^ 



17. > 



E.^"r. PHILLIPS, Ph. D., 

Expert Apiculturid. 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERN ME N'T I'KINTINCi OFFICE. 



(1. 



1905. 






LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

Bureau of Entomology, 
Washington, D. C, October 11^, 1905. 
Sir: I have the honor to transmit the manuscript of a bulletin on 
the rearing of queen bees, by Dr. E. F. Phillips, Expert Apiculturist 
of this Bureau. It is hoped that the explicit directions given in this 
manuscript governing the production of queens will be of assistance 
to bee keepers throughout the country, and that it will prove the means 
of saving money for those who carry on apiculture except in the 
smallest way. 1 therefore recommend that this manuscript be pub- 
lished as Bulletin No. 55 of this Bureau. 

Respectfully, L. O. Howard, 

Kntoiiiologlst and Chief of Bureau. 
Hon. James Wilson, 

Secretary of Agriculture. 



P R E F A C E. 



Bee keeping is primarily a breeding prol)leni, for the honey surplus 
of a colon}' depends so much on the queen. In order to make more 
public some of the best methods of <|ueen rearing, this bulletin is 
issued. Much of the labor of manipulation can be avoided bj- the use 
of the sj'stems herein described. 

It is held by the best bee keepers that it is necessary to restock all 
colonies with new queens ever}^ year; but the practice is not as com- 
mon as it should be. It is hoped that the simplicity of the methods 
hereafter described will serve as an inducement to those bee keepers 
who have not adopted the plan to pursue it in the future. 

The rearing of queens has become a separate field, in that some men 
devote their entire apiaries to this purpose; and to these professional 
queen breeders must, to a large extent, be given the work of the 
improvement of stock; l)ut it is far from wise for the ordinary honey 
producer to neglect this side of the industr3^ 

E. F. P. 



COXTHXTS. 



Page. 

Necessity of reqiieeninsi 7 

Natural queen rearinj; 9 

Swarming 9 

Supersedure 10 

Queenlessness 10 

Artificial queen rearing 10 

Starting queen cells 11 

Description of cell cups 12 

Transferring larvjf 12 

Method of starting cells 15 

Difference in races — 15 

Swarm box 15 

Description of box 16 

Method of use 16 

Alley system of cell starting 18 

The use of ' ' cocoons " 19 

Completing queen cells 19 

Incubators 19 

Styles of nursery cages 20 

Introducing queen cells 23 

Mating queens 24 

Comparison of different sizes of boxes 24 

Phenomena in mating 27 

Testing queens . 28 

Necessity of pure stock 29 

Selection of drones 29 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Page. 
Fi(i. 1. Standard frame with bar of coiuplett'd cells on wooden flanged vnpf 

and bar of Doolittle wax eells 12 

2. Standard frame with bars of queen eells on wooden bases 18 

?>. Two-story hive with perforated zine honey board between the stories, 

the top to be used for queen rearing 18 

4. Swarthmore incubator holding sixteen cells on wooden bases 14 

5. Swarthmore incubator in frame 14 

6. Swarm box, showing position of frames aii<l inner side nf lid, with 

wooden cells in place, ready for bees 1*5 

7. Swarm box from below, with top of lid 17 

8. Frame with a strip of foundation only jiartly drawn out, with iarv,i> 

in cells, cut according to Alley plan of cell starting 19 

9. Titoff nurseries in frame holder, showing i-onstruction of nursery 20 

10. Swarthmore nursery, with queens ^ 21 

11. Swarthmore nursery dissected 21 

12. Swarthmore nurseries in frame, showing method of storing forty- 

eight cjueens 22 

13. A style of cage wliich answers all the re(|uirements for convenience 

and usefulness as nursery and introducing cage 22 

14. Swarthmore nucleus with one frame removed to show construction .. 23 

15. Swarthmore nucleus with introducing cage in place ])etween the 

frames 28 

16. Benton mating boxes 26 

17. Benton mailing t;ages 26 

6 



THE HEARING OF QUEEN BEES. 



NECESSITY OF REftUEENING. 

In modern apiculture it is necessarj^ for the bee keeper to be able to 
get queens at an}' time. Many bee keepers requeen all their colonies 
every year; others requeen every two years; it is necessary, then, that 
they have some method of rearing good queens to use in this way. 
Even where frequent requeening is not practiced, it is nevertheless 
often necessary to replace queens which do not come up to the stand- 
ard in egg laying. Again, it often happens that a colony becomes 
queenless by the accidental death of the queen. Such a colonj-, if left 
to itself, will rear a queen, provided there are young larva? in the 
combs, but few bee keepers are now willing to intrust so important a 
matter to the bees. 

Frequent reciueening is a very necessary thing if the best results 
are to be obtained. It is a well-established fact that queens la}' more 
eggs during the first year than in any other, and that the number of 
eggs laid gradually diminishes until the queen is replaced, because of 
inability to keep up the colony. Every bee keeper knows, too, that, 
all other things being equal, the greatest amount of surplus honey is 
produced by the most populous colony. It is evident, then, that 
frequent requeening means the maximum honey production. 

It has not yet been shown that requeening more than every second 
year pays for the extra labor, but the best bee keepers hold that 
queens should not be allowed to live longer than that time. There 
are, of course, exceptional cases in which the queen will keep up the 
population of a colony for two or even three years longer than the 
time given; but unless every colony can be watched constantly it will 
not pay to risk keeping queens more than two years old." 

It is also desirable to have extra queens on hand when the number 
of colonies in the apiary is to l)e increased by division or by any of 
the methods of artilicial swarming. If a queen is provided as soon as 

« An exception to this rule occurs in large queen-rearing apiaries where it is desira- 
ble to have large numbers of choice drones always on hand. Since old queens lay a 
much larger proportion of drone eggs, it is often desirable to keep one or two old 
queens of select stock on this account. There is no evidence that drones from old 
queens lack anything in vitality. 

7 



5 thp: rearing of queen bees. 

the increase is made, the new colony will oain at)Out three weeks in 
brood production over a colony which has to produce its own queen. 

The question which arises in the mind of ever}' bee keeper is: ^Yill 
it pa\' me to rear my own queens^ Very good untested queens can 
now he purchased for $1, or even less, it is true; but where a large 
apiary is to be requeened, this amount, though small for one colony, 
reaches considerable size when multiplied ])y a few score; and if this 
amount can be saved, and the total net receipts of each colony corre- 
spondingly increased with comparatively little labor, it would seem 
foil}' for the bee keeper to persist in purchasing queens. 

It will of course be necessaiy for the average bee keeper to buy 
some queens. The selection of fine strains of stock must be left to 
the professional queen breeder in most cases, and it will be well to buy 
the breeding stock from some such person. Where no particular 
improved strain of stock is desired, it may pay the extensive bee 
keeper to buy an imported queen to be used as a breeder. In the case 
of Italian bees this does not seem necessaiy, for very superior stock 
is reared in the United States, and queen bees of the Italian variety 
are actually shipped from this country to Italy to be used as breeders. 
In Carniolan, Cyprian, and other races not so much selection has been 
carried on in this countiy, and in consequence the desirability of 
importations is greater in order to insure purity of stock. 

Few bee keepers are so situated that the}' can with profit rear their 
own breeding stock. It is the rule in some apiaries to choose the 
queen from the colony with the best honey record as the breeder for 
the following year, but this, while seemingly good policy, leads to 
curious errors. Unless it is certain that the queen is of pure stock or 
of a fixed cross she should not be used, for it is a well-known fact that 
when a first cross is used as a breeder the resulting offspring are most 
variable. 

It is the purpose of this bulletin to outline a plan for breeding 
queens in the home apiary which it is believed can be used with the 
minimum of labor and expense, one with which good results have 
already been obtained. Queen rearing can not be carried on without 
careful attention, but the methods are not, as many believe, so compli- 
cated as to make, it impossible for the honey producer to afford the 
time. The beginner in ])ee keeping can scarcely expect to rear good 
queens during the first year, and no one can hope to do so until he 
becomes well acquainted with the habits of bees. It is impossible to 
give directions minute enough to cover every phase of the subject, and 
so that every emergency will be foreseen: a great deal must necessarily 
be left to the common sense and experience of the apiarist. The out- 
line herein giv(Mi, however, ought to ])e sufficient for anyone who has 
had one year's careful work with bees. 



THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 



NATURAL aUEEN REARING. 



Before taking up any aititicial methods of queen rearing, it is nec- 
essary to have well in mind the circumstances and conditions under 
which a colony of bees will undertake to rear a queen. It is well 
known to all bee keepers that workers are female bees, that, when a 
(jueen is to be reared, a larva which would under other circianstances 
become a worker is fed on a speciall}' prepared food, and that thereby 
the reproductive organs are fully developed. All female larva? when 
just hatched from the eggs are alike in development, whether they 
are destined to become queens or workers. If then any^ female larva 
is chosen and so placed that this special food is given it, the resulting 
bee is a queen; on the other hand if the ordinary larval food is given 
it, a worker is the result. This discovery is generally attributed to 
Schirach, although the assertion is frequentl}- made that the fact was 
known before his time. 

Since this change of food is exactly what is brought about in nature 
by the workers, in order to proceed intelligently, we must first know 
the conditions under which such a thing can be done; for, while bees 
are somewhat flexible in their instincts, too great a departure from 
their natural inclinations will result only in failure. The three 
conditions under which a colony will rear a queen in nature are (1) 
swarming, (2) supersedure, and (8) queenlessness. 

(!) Swarming. — In the spring of the year, as a rule, but at any time 
when the quarters in which the colony is located are too small, bees 
acquire what is known as the "swarming impulse." In spite of all 
the work that has been done on the habits of these insects, just what 
brings this about and the exact physiological conditions leading up to 
it, are still unknown. Many weird and wild guesses have been made 
at various times, but it may be said, almost without fear of contradic- 
tion, that we are as far as ever from knowing the true cause of swarm- 
ing. It does not always hold true that cramped quarters produce the 
phenomenon, nor that sufficient room will prevent it. 

At any rate, when the swarming impulse is aroused the bees begin 
to build queen cells, and in these eggs are often laid by the queen. 
The queen cell is larger at its base than the worker cell and pro- 
jects, when completed, beyond the outside line of the comb, hanging 
down in an acorn-shaped projection with irregularly pitted walls. 
The number of such cells which are produced depends on many things, 
among which may be mentioned temperature and the race of bees. 
In colonies of Italian bees the number is usually not great, but in 
Cyprians there are often from 30 to 60 queen cells, while in Tunisians 
there may be several times that number. When the queens are 
about ready to emerge from the cells, the old queen and part of the 
colony leave to establish a new one. 

11251— No. 55—06 2 



10 THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 

(2) SuperHedure. — When a queen on account of age or other cause 
ceases to lay eggs enough to keep up the strength of the colon}-, the 
workers build queen cells and rear queens. When the first one of 
these emerges, an encounter ensues between the young queen and the 
old one, and almost invariably the latter is killed. 

(8) Queenlessness. — It may happen that the queen in a colony is killed, 
and in that case, if there are young larva> in the combs, the workers 
will rear queens, one of which later becomes the mother of the colony. 
While in nature this is probabl}'^ a more rare condition than is either 
of the two preceding, it is a normal and natural circumstance under 
which queens are reared. 

In the rearing of queens by the so-called artificial methods it is 
necessary to follow rather closely one of the three natural conditions. 
As will be shown later, queens can be reared in colonies with a lay- 
ing queen, provided a perforated zinc sheet be used to prevent the 
latter from tearing down the cells, but in such cases we probably 
approach the swarming condition. 

In practice the bee keeper can, if he wishes, take queens from nor- 
mally constructed cells. By making a colony (jueenless a considerable 
number of these will be reared, and by very careful watching almost 
all of them can be captured and caged before they kill each other or 
destroy other queen cells. To do this, however, it is necessary to 
look over the entire colony several times a day for several days, and 
thus it is far from a time-saving method. The plan is not to be recom- 
mended except where it is impossible to use some of the better methods. 
In the same way queens emerging from cells built in swarming time 
or during supeisedure may be captured. There are, however, better 
methods of (pieen rearing; for, b}^ modern appliances, the work is not 
only made umch more simple, but also gives better results. A descrip- 
tion of these methods may seem rather complicated to one who has 
not tried them, but the manipulation is easily learned, and after a 
brief acquaintance with the appliances the whole subject of queen 
rearing becomes very simple. 

ARTIFICIAL aUEEN REARING. 

The methods to be described here are not those of any one system, 
but are the result of many investigations in this field. It is impossible 
to give credit to every one who has ofl'ered valuable suggestions on 
this subject, and no such attempt will be made; for it is often difficult 
to learn with certainty who first used and recommended any particular 
plan. The bee-keeping journals are full of valuable hints on this 
work, and methods long ago in use are repeatedly rediscovered and 
given as new. To prevent any injustice, then, it seems best to avoid 
giving credit in all cases, except where there is no doubt as to the 
origin of the plan. The author disclaims all credit of originality in 



THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 11 

this bulletin, but can say that all the methods described have been 
tried successfully by him, either in the apiar}^ of the Bureau of Ento- 
mology or before entering* the service of that Bureau. The object in 
writing such a bulletin is that the successful methods may l)ecome 
better known. In most cases the plans given are somewhat modified 
and are not exacth" as used by the originators of the various systems. 
These modifications may not appear to everybody to be improvements, 
but the}' are such as have seemed desirable either in the work of the 
apiar}' of the Bureau, or in the experience of other queen breeders. In 
giving directions for each part of the work of queen rearing, several 
methods are described; for it is realized that not all bee keepers can 
conveniently use the same system. Where a particular appliance is 
known commercially under a certain name, that name is used; for in 
such cases no dispute as to originality can arise and no injustice can))e 
done. The author disclaims any responsibilit}' in giving these names, 
but emploj^s those in current use in apicultural literature. None of 
the appliances which are mentioned in this bulletin are patented and 
any ])ee keeper is at liberty to make them, either in the style described 
or with any modifications which he sees fit to make. 

The use of some terms which are rather current in bee-keeping lit- 
erature has been avoided, since several of the more common terms are 
not only useless but misleading. If the writers on apiculture were to 
be more careful in the nomenclature of the science, it would do much 
toward making their descriptions clear, and at the same time apicul- 
ture would be regarded with more respect by beginners and outsiders. 

An efi'ort has also been made to exclude all discussion which does 
not have a direct bearing on queen rearing. It is assumed that the 
reader is familiar with the principles of beekeeping, and consequently 
it has not seemed necessary to discuss other phases of the work of the 
bee keeper. 

STARTING QUEEN CELLS. 

The queen cells used by various (jueen l)reeders vary greatly. 
Natural queen cells are sometimes used in (jueen rearing by cutting 
them from the comb and fastening them with wax to a bar the length 
of the top bar of the hive. These cells already stocked with royal 
jelly, the food of the queen larva?, are ready to use by simph^ remov- 
ing the larva? already in them and replacing them with larvse from 
the breeding queen. There are, however, several objections to such 
cells. They are far from uniform, and are not easily put into nursery 
cages when sealed; they are supplied with more royal jell}^ than is 
necessary; in most cases they are not easil}^ obtained in sufficient 
number; and, finally, they can not be handled and removed, as can 
artificial cells. Where such cells are used it is often customary to 
allow the queens to emerge on the combs of the hive, but this necessi- 
tates the hunting for young queens, which is a waste of time. 



12 



THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 



DESCKIPTION OF CELL CUPS. 

It IS much better to use a cell base artificially produced. These 
cells can be made of wax, or on wooden bases with a depression whicli 
is filled wnth wax. They are just as readily accepted by the bees, and 
because of uniformity and ease of handling are much preferable. 

The Doolittle cell, made by molding- wax on a stick with rounded 
end of the exact diameter of a (pieen cell, is very good and was proba- 
bly the Hrst artificial cell used in commercial queen rearing. The 
molding stick is dipped in hot wax, and when one layer of wax is cool, 
the process is repeated, each time the stick being dipped a shorter 
distance. The result is a cup with thin edges and heavy base. Such 
cells are also made by pressing out the wax in a mold. The cells are 
then fastened to a bar with wax preparatory to introducing the larvai 
(see tig, 1). 




ri'iG. X. — Standard frame with bar of completed cells on wooden flanged cups and bar of Doolittle 

wax cells (orig-inal ). 

Cups with wooden bases are now widely used and have manv advan- 
tages over the wax cups, in that they can be transfernnl f lom one bar 
to another without dangei- of breaking and can more readily be used 
again after the queen has emerged. Tliese cups are usually made of a 
(•ylindrical piece of wood with a concave depression in one end which 
is lined with wax. There is a nail point in one end which allows them 
to be fastened to a bar by pressure (see fig. 2), or, better, there is a 
flange at the upper end so that the}^ can be jjut through holes bored 
in the bar (see figs. 1 and ti). 

TRANSFERRING LARV^. 

Having procured the cells to be used, with the requisite bars, the 
bee keeper is ready to transfer larv« to these cells. Before being 



THK KEAK1N(} OF QOEKN BEE?i. 



13 



used for the tirst time, each cell should be thorouj^'hly daubed on the 
inside with royal jelly. This seems to give to it the odor of a queen 
cell; at any rate the bees are nnich more ready to accept it. A small 
amount of royal jelly should then be put at the bottom of the concave 




Pig. 2. — Standard frame with bars of queen cells on wooden bases. The top bar holds cells of the 

Root pattern (origfinal). 

depression, and a larva from the colony of the l)reeding- (|ueen placed 
on it. The larva must not be more than three days old, and it is far 
better to use one which has not })een hatched from the egg for more 
than one day. This transfer from the worker cell to the artificial 

queen cell ma}" be done with 
a match or toothpick which 
has l)een cut thin and bent 
on the end to an angle of 
about 4.5 . No special tool 
is necessarA^ although when 
this procedure is to be re- 
peated f requentl}" it may be 
desirable to use a steel rod 
or some similar instrument, 
shaped as above described. 
The bar is then placed in a 
queenless colony, and the 
bees will build down on the 
cells until they complete 

Fig. 3.— Two-story hive with perforated zinc honey board them, at the saiUC time f-eecl- 
between stories, the top to be used for queen rearing ing the larvte witll roval jellv 

^^''sine.1). ^^j^^.j ^j^g ^jjj^g comes for the 

cell to be sealed. As a rule not all the cells are accepted, but just as 
many will be accepted in the case of artificial cells as when natural cells 
are fastened to a bar, as previously described. If a two-stor}' hive is 




14 



THE REARINd OF QUEEN BEES. 



to be used, the bar should be placed in the upper, and the queen con- 
lined in the lower, story. For the latter purpose a perforated zinc 
honey board (see tig. 3) should be used. In a one-story hive the bar 
should be surrounded by a perforated zinc incubator. A larger pro- 
portion of cells are usually accepted in a queenless colony. In case 




Fi,j. -4._".S\va,rthmore" incubator holding sixteen cells on wooden bases (oriKinnl). 

there is a colony with an old queen which is about to be superseded, a 
large number of cells may be started, and this is also true in a colony 
preparing to swarm. Here, too, for safety the queen of the colony 
should be kept away from the cells by perforated zinc. 




Fig. 5.- 



' Swarthmore " incubator in frame. The metal supports at the upper ends of the side pieces 
of the frame do not show (ori,y:inal ) 



The chief diffic;ulty in rearing queens by this method is to get the 
cells accepted. Once started, they are usually completed, even if 
transferred to a colony which does not readily accept cells. In many 
cases it is customary to start cells in a <iueenless colony, and in twenty- 
four hours to transfer the bar to a hive with a queen, putting the cell 



THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 15 

in an incubating cage of zinc (see tigs, -t and 5). This gives ttie advan- 
tage of starting the cells under the most favorable conditions for their 
acceptance, and at the same time makes it unnecessary to have so many 
queenless colonies in an apiary, which is obviously not econoinical. 

METHOD OF STARTIN(J CELLS. 

In starting cells it is desirable that the bar be placed at a level of 
about 3 inches from the top of the frames when standard-sized frames 
are used, since this puts the cells in the middle of the brood chamber 
where the heat is most uniform. This can })e done by the method 
illustrated in figures 1 and 2. After cells are once started they ma}' be 
kept at almost any level of the hive so long as they are fed and kept 
warm; and as many as three bars may be fastened in one frame where 
there are plenty of bees to cover all of them. It is possible to put 
three such frames of started cells in one story of a colon}^ but at least 
one frame of comb should be between each two cell frames, so that there 
may not be too large an opening in the hive. In this way a strong 
colony will readily complete and care for more than a hundred cells, 

DIFFERENCE IN RACES. 

Here, again, racial characteristics plaj' a large part. Italians do not 
as readily accept and complete large numbers of queen cells as do 
either Cyprians or Carniolans, In yards in which Italian queens are 
reared, it ria}' therefore be desirable to keep colonies of Cj^prians or 
Carniolans. It need scarcely be said that in such cases drone traps 
shoidd be used. No fear need be entertained by the queen breeder 
that races producing large numbers of queens necessarily produce 
poor ones. Anyone familiar with the proliticness of the queens of 
these races could not hold such an idea. There is no evidence that 
under these circumstances the larvas are less well fed; indeed in such 
colonies, as in those with fewer queens to care for, the larvae always 
leave some royal jelly in the cells when they enter the pupal stage, 
during which, of course, no food is eaten. 

SWARM BOX. 

Since the greatest difficulty with this part of queen rearing is in 
getting the cells started, it is fortunate that we have a method b}^ 
which the matter may be made more certain. It is desirable to get 
bees into the condition in which they will start large nvimbers of cells; 
this can be done by the use of what is known as the " swarm box."" We 
know that when bees are in too cramped quarters they acquire the 
swarming impulse, and that under this influence they begin to rear 
queens; hence if we confine bees in a hive or box the same condition 
is brought about, but ir a much shorter time. Whether the condition 



16 



THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 



under confinement i.s the same as the swarming' impulse, we ao not 
know definite!}'; but, what is more to the purpose, we do know that 
they accept large numbers of queen cells. 




nESCRIPTION OF BOX. 

A style of swarm box which has proven very satisfactory in the 
Department apiary is made large enough to hold five frames of 
standard Langstroth size (see figs. 6 and 7). The bottom is covered 

with wire cloth, and 
small wooden strips, 
nailed on each end, 
raise the bottom from 
the table or floor on 
which the box rests and 
thus allow abundant 
ventilation. The top 
of the box is remov- 
able, and has cut in it 
two slots, into which 
are fitted two cell bars. 
Holes are bored in the ^S»^ 
latter to accommodate 
16 flanged wooden cell 
bases. These slots, 
which run almost the 
entire length of the 
box, are so placed that 
if a frame of comb be put on each side of the box and another exactly 
in the middle, the slots are directly above the intervening spaces. This 
then places the cell cups directly ovei- the two spaces left in the box. 

METHOD OK HSK. 

In practice, this box is placed on the ground in front of any hive 
from which a considerable number of bees can be taken. The two 
side frames are placed in the box, and bees from about six frames of 
the hive are shaken into it, the middle frame is inserted, and the box 
is closed. The slots should contain the cell bars and the wooden cells, 
which arc, however, still empty. The frames used in the swarm box 
must contain honey, pollen, and water, but no brood, and the operator 
must be absolutely sure that the queen of the colony from which the 
bees are drawn is not in the swarm box. To allow easy manipulation, 
the lid of the box should be nailed down or otherwise secured and the 
})ox removed to a cellar or other cool place for about six hours. It 
has been found even better to use only one frame, properly provi- 
sioned, in place of three, placing it in the middle of the box; ])ut for 



. t). — Swtirui box. showing puMition o( frames and inner sic 
lid, with wooden cells in place, ready for bees (original). 



THK REARING OF QirEEN BEES. 



17 



the bej^inner the use of three frames is recominended. When onl}- 
one is used more bees should be shaken into the box. 

At the end of about six hours the wooden cell bases are removed 
one at a time, usinj^ an extra base as a plug to prevent the escape of 
any of the bees, and into each base is placed a little ro3"al jelly and a 
very young larva from the colony of the breeding queen. It is not 
absolutely necessary to use royal jelly at this time, for if enough of 
the larval food be transferred from the worker cell with the larva to 




Fig. 7. — Swarm box from below, with top of lid. A blank bar is in place in one slot, as usc<i when 
only sixteen cells are to be started (original). 

keep it moist for a short time, the confined bees will secrete ro} al jelly 
so rapidly that the larvie will neither dry up nor starve. However, 
in every-day mani])ulation it may be better to use a very little royal 
jelly, and the small amount of extra time required for this is, in the 
hands of most manipulators, generally repaid by the fact that more 
cells are accepted. The cell bases now containing larvfe having all 
been replaced, the swarm l)ox is covered with a quilt to keep the cells 
warm and is put awa}" until the next morning, at which time the box 



18 THE REARING OF QUEEN BEE8. 

is opened, the bees shaken out in front of their old hive, and the cells 
on bars hung" in any colon}' which will complete cells. By this method 
a much larger proportion of cells will be accepted, and the time 
required is very small. A schedule, which is in use in the Department 
apiary during the queen-rearing season, for the use of the swarm box, 
may not be out of place here to illustrate the small amount of time 
required for this manipulation, and to be used as a working" plan: 

9 a. m. Shake bees into swarm box. ( About n minutes. ) 

3 p. m. Insert royal jelly and transfer larvse to cell i-ups. ( About 10-15 

minutes. ) 
9 a. m. (next day). Shake out bees and place cells in colony to be completed. 

( Al)out 5 minutes. ) 

While the construction of a special box and this manipulation may 
seem like an undue amount of labor, the schedule shows that such is 
not the case. In actual use in the apiary of the Department of Agri- 
culture, it has been found not only to save time, but to be more satis- 
factory in ever}^ other way, particulai"ly in the larger number and 
more imiform feeding of the cells accepted. 

The swarm box has been criticised in various (juarters as being 
opposed to the natural ha])its of the bees, and it is supposed that this 
is a valid reason for condemning it. It is a popular fallacy among 
some bee keepers that there must be absolutely no departure from the 
natural instincts of the bees, and a new or strange idea is frequently 
condemned on these false grounds. The same men will use movable 
frame hives and queen mailing cages, and will remove honey from the 
hives either by extracting or in the far more unnatural section. We 
nuist, as pointed out previously,'^' know the habits of the bees; but 
equally important in practical work is a knowledge of the amount of 
tlexiV)ility in the instinct. In fact, modiM'n apiculture has come to be 
a study of the moditication of conditions undci" which bees can thrive 
to bring about tiie best results for the bee keeper. 

ALLEY SYSTEM OF CELL STARTING. 

There is another method of starting queen cells which gives very 
good results. Mr. Henry Alley recommends that a strip of comb, 
with young larvae from the breeding queen, be cut wide enough for 
one row of complete cells to remain intact. The outer portions of the 
cells on one side are cut away and every second larva is killed or 
removed. This strip is then fastened to the bottom of a comb with 
the open ends pointing downward, and the whole put in any colony 
used for (;ell })uilding. The queen cells are built very regularly and 
a large proportion are accepted. In the apiary of the Bureau it has 
been foiuid easier to use partly drawn out foundation in which are 
young larva% as shown in figure S, thus avoiding the cutting away of 

('See "Natural queen rearing," p. 9. 



THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 



Id 



the ends of cells. This method is very simple, since it does away with 
the necessity for transferring, and gives good results; but the cells 
must be cut apart to be put in nurseries, and in this manipulation they 
lack the firmness of cells with wooden bases. It has also been recom- 
mended that drone comb l)e used in the same way, and that a lar\'a ])e 
transferred into every other cell. This plan, however, does not 
possess the one really good feature of the Alley method, and has there- 
fore nothing to commend it. 

THE USE OF "'COCOONS." 

Another plan, used by several queen breeders, is that of transferring 
the larva in the "cocoon" to an artificial cell cup. The comb is cut 
down until quite thin (about three-sixteenths inch), and then bent 
back and forth until the lining of larval skins and the excreta, gener- 




FiG. 8.— Frame with a strip of fonndation onlypartly drawn out, with larvit- in cflls, cut according 
to Alley plan of c<-n starting (original). 

ally called the "cocoon" by bee keepers, is loosened. This is trans- 
ferred by forceps, or on the end of a rounded stick with a depression 
in the end. This plan does not require the use of royal jelly; but it 
takes c()nsidera])le practice to make the transfer successfully and seems 
to be no ])etter than the method of transferring larva^ alone. 

COMPLETING QUEEN CEL-LS. 



INCUBATORS. 



The carrying up of queen cells to the time when the adult virgin 
queen emerges is much easier than the starting of the cells. Cells 
once started may ])e hung in a queenless colony without any covering 
or protection, and it is an easy matter to have a large number cared 
for. In the practical work of the Department apiary it is customary 



20 



THE REARING OF QTTEEN BEES. 



to use cell bars holding sixteen cells each, and two or three of these 
bars are fastened in one Langstroth frame. Frequently two or even 
three such frames are put in one hive; but usuallj' part of the cells are 
sealed or in nurseries, so that there are usually not more than fifty at 
a time which require feeding. These cells niay also be ])ut in any 
colony with a laying queen, provided an incubating cage of perforated 
zinc is placed around them (see figs. 4 and 5), or in the second story of 
a two-stor}^ colony, with the queen kept below b}^ a perforated zinc 
hone}^ board (see fig. 3). 

STYLES OF NURSP^RY CAGES. 

One day before the queens are due to emerge, each cell must be 
placed in an individual nursery, so that the young emerging queens 
can not attack each other. This nurser}' may be made of wire cloth 




Pig. 9. — Titoff nurseries in frame holder, showing' construction of nursery (original) . 

or of perforated zinc, but wire cloth is perhaps better, since in one or 
two cases in our apiary, during the past sunnner, young virgin queens 
managed to get through the perforated zinc and to do some damage 
before being discovered. The cell should not ])e put in a wire-cloth 
nursery more than on(^ day before the (jueen is due to emerge, for the 
workers should l)e allowcHi to tiiin down the wall of the cell so that the 
queen will have no difficulty in gnawing her way out. Even when 
separated from the workers ))y wire cloth for one d'M\ the queen 
usuall}'' takes a longer time in getting out, but no queen which has 
vitalit}^ enough to ])ecome a prolific layer will ever entirely fail to do so. 
Many different kinds of imrsery cages have been advocated, and 
really there is little choice between them, each queen breeder prefer- 
ring the one he has used, the choice frequently being made without 
trying any other. Before making a choice, however, it vvould be wise 



THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 



21 



for the prospective queen l)reeder to study the problem. The ideal 
nursery cag-e must at the same time be an introduciiio- cage; so that 
from the time wlieii the (jueen cell is put in until the queen is trans- 
ferred to another hive to be mated, no attention is necessary except to 
luieover the candy plug to allow the workers to eat the queen out. 
The Stanley cage, consisting of a cylinder of perforated zinc, will do 




f ■If 




.5>:. 



Fig. 10. — "Swarthmore" nursery, with queen.s. Two cells removed to show construction (original i. 

very well, provided it is modified so that it can be used as an intro- 
ducing- cage, but it is awlvward and not easily handled in a hive. The 
long West cell protector is also good, except that it is not so conven- 
ient for introducing and does not fit into any bar, but must be stuck 
on a comb, it may also be added that any cell protector is worse than 



j^cs^rxr 



iiL^si^*mL,4^ -^ta:^ ' ^ ^ifciri^ 




Fig. 11.— "Swarthmore" nursery dissected (original). 

useless where artificial cells are used. Where the old method of cut- 
ting natural cells from colonies and transferring these cells to queenless 
colonies is practiced, a cell protector is desirable and almost necessary, 
since the workers in repairing the cut edges of comb often gnaw 
entirely into the cell and kill the queen. The author has never known 
this to happen on artificial cells. The Titoft' cage (tig. 9) is also very 



22 THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 

good. I)iit lui.s the disadvantage of being awkward to handle in a frame 
and of being made for use without flanged cell cups. It is a con- 
venient cage for introducing, however. 

The Alley nursery, consisting of a block of wood with a large hole 
})ored through it, is excellent. The openings are covered with wire 




Fig. 12.— "Swarthmdie " nurseries in frame, showing method of storing forty-eight queens (original). 

cloth, and a hole for the queen cell and one for the candy plug are 
bored to meet the central hole. It will be found that a cage made 
with a wooden frame will be better than an all-metal cage, since it is 



Fig. 13. — A style of cage which answers all the requirements for convenience and usefulness as nur- 
sery and introducing cage (original). 

more easily placed in the hive in aii}^ desired location, and is held in 
place with propolis. These nurseries can be placed in an empty frame, 
and left until the frame is filled solid with them; and in this way a 
colony will keep a good many cells warm until the queens emerge. 



THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 



28 




The Swiirthmore mirserv, .shown in tigurcs 10, 11, and 12, is excellent 
also, but it is unfortunate that when this form is used the queens must 
be removed to introducing- cages. This nursery is more valuable when 
used for keeping- queens on 
hand for some time after 
mating. Queens can be re- 
moved from the mating col- 
onies and stored in them for 
several weeks even, without 
an}' harm; and the mating- 
colon}" can be used several 
times in that period for mat- 
ing other quc(»ns. The size 
of this nursery is very con- 
venient, and ■18 queens may 
be kept in a frame, as shown 

ir. +;-^iii^,^ 10 1^ 4-U^ ;u,. Fig. 14. — "Swarthm ore" nucleus with one frame removed 

in ngure i2i. In tne illus- . , .,.,..,, 

=> to show construction (original). 

tration these queens were 

actually Caucasian virgins, and the nursery had been used for 
emerging- queens. This is not the most convenient nursery for virgin 
queens, and the author understands that the originator, Mr. E. L. Pratt. 

does not so use it. 

A nursery, then, should be so 
constructed that the queen will be 
separated from the workers by 
wire cloth; should be of such a 
form that any style of artificial 
queen cell may be placed in it; 
should contain a place for candy 
as food for the young queen; and 
should above all be useful as an 
introducing cage. The use of a 
special introducing cage of any 
type is not generally recommended. 
Even in introducing- queens re- 
ceived by mail the shipping cage is 
as good as any "'improved" intro- 
ducing cage and saves time. 




INTRODUCINCJ QUEEN CELLS. 



Fig. 15. — "Swarthmore" nucleus with introducing- 
cage (as in fig. 13) in place between the frames 
(original). 



But it may be asked, " Why not 
introduce queen cells directly to the 
colony where the queen is to stay until mated ? " This method is all 
right where time is no object; but the queens might just as well be 
kept in a nursery until three to five days old, and thus they need not 



24 THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 

be in the mating colon}^ more than four or five days. If a queen cell 
be placed in a mating colony it means that for a day or two before the 
queen emerges, and for at least five days })cfore she mates, the colony 
is unproductive; and commercial (jueen breeders can not afi:'ord such a 
loss. Such a method of introduction is easier, it is true, but certainl}^ 
is not economical. In introducing from a nursery it sometimes hap- 
pens that queens are killed, but even this loss is not great enough to 
justify the method of introducing cells, especially since queens from 
cells are sometimes rejected also. 

The practice of putting a little honey on the tip of the queen cell 
when in a nursery, so that the emerging queen may have something to 
cat while gnawing her way out is not necessary, and has, when prac- 
ticed, sometimes led to the death of the queen by sufi'ocation. 

MATING QUEENS. 

The best method of mating queens has perhaps been more discussed 
by bee keepers than any other phase of queen rearing, the bone of 
contention l)eing the size of the colony which shall ])e used in mating. 

Some bee keepers insist that queens should be mated only in full 
colonies, while others go to the opposite extreme and claim that only 
a handful of bees are necessary to care for a queen during this period 
of her life. 

COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT SIZES OF BOXES. 

A comparison of the cost of the two methods will help to solve the 
difficulty, for bee keeping is a business proposition, and bee keepers 
desire the most return for the least expenditure of either time or 
money. Mating in a colony means that that colony is without any 
new brood for about a week; and since during the summer season the 
life of the average worker is about six weeks, the loss resulting is 
about equal to one-sixth the cost of the colony used. This is to some 
extent made up ))y the increased activity in brood rearing after such 
a period of rest; but at any rate a colony can make no increase in size 
when queens are being mated, and there is almost always a loss. From 
this standpoint, then, the smaller the colony, the cheaper this part of 
the rearing will be; and if this were the only point to be considered 
there could be but one answer to the (juestion. 

The time spent in manipulation is an important item, especially 
where large numbers of queens are to be reared. It is more difficult 
to introduce a queen into a large colony tlian into a small one, and 
this is a factor to be considered, since the chances for occasional losses 
of queens which may result in considerable loss of time are much 
reduced by the use of small colonies. In looking over mating colonies 
to see whether the (jueen is laying, there is everything to be said in 
favor of the small colony or "nucleus." There is less comb area to 



THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 25 

be cov'ered, and, if any eggs are present, it is easy to see them at a 
glance: but tiie chief gain is in the time spent in tinding the queen 
to remove her from the colony. To go over S or 1<> or even 3 or -t full 
frames requires ten times as much time as to open up a small nucleus 
and pick off the queen almost at the first glance. This much is in 
favor of small colonies, certainly. 

There are, on the other hand, certain disadvantages in the use of 
very small nuclei in the hands of the inexperienced. Queens can be 
mated from small boxes with a comb area not greater than that of a 
1-pound section of honey, and with a mere handful of bees; but 
experienced bee keepers have failed to make these work successfully, 
merely through ignorance of the special manipulation necessar} for 
the smaller colonies. The complaint is also sometimes made that these 
nuclei are robbed out because the small number of bees will not defend 
the hive against invaders and that the colony will "swarm out" or 
leave the box because it is too small. Tt is also claimed that the 
nucleus wil! not be a success unless there is unsealed brood in the comb 
to hold the bees. All of these general statements are too broad, for 
such colonies are not moi-e easily rol>l)ed than large ones, do not swarm 
out if properly made, and brood is unnecessary under some circum- 
stances. However, there is a foundation for these complaints, everj^ 
one of which comes from experienced men. 

The entrance to a nucleus of the smallest size should ))e very small, 
so that one bee can protect the hive from several robbers. If, b}^ any 
chance, a small colony without l)rood becomes queenless, it will almost 
invariably swarm out, and to this nuist be attril)uted most of the cases 
so reported. Unsealed brood undoubtedly helps to hold the bees in the 
colony, and certainly should be used in most cases. After the first 
laying queen is removed from a nucleus, this brood will be present; 
and from that time on there is no difficulty. To prevent the bees 
from swarming out with the first queen, ])rood ma}^ be given to them. 
If, however, the bees are confined in the colony for some time (to 
which there is no valid objection), they will rarely swarm out, even 
without brood, and to remove them to an out yard lessens this difficulty 
still further. 

Nuclei with not more than a few dozen bees will mate a queen, and 
this has been done, and is being done repeatedly. There is objec- 
tion, however, to the use of the smallest nuclei in the hands of the 
inexperienced, for they will die out unless watched, and often require 
restocking. In a large queen-rearing yard, this frequently amounts 
to considerable labor, and to avoid that feature a somewhat larger 
nucleus is desirable. Bee keepers are not always adepts at handling 
small nuclei, and in actual practice a colon}" should be jn such condi- 
tion that it can be handled quickl}-, safely, and sometimes even rather 
roughly. 



26 



THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 



A size of nucleus which has proven to save both time and labor in 
the apiary of the Department of Ag-riculture is one having a comb 
area somewhat less than one standard Langstroth frame. The hive 
bodies were originally made large enough to hold five frames, as shown 




Fig. 16.— Benton mating boxes, showing method of combining frames to make a standard .'sized 

frame, and jiositions of feeders (original). 

in figure 1(>; l)ut, m practice, three or even two are used, ana the exira 
room is an advantage in moving the frames cjuickly. The construction 
of the fi-ames is shown better in the illustration than could be done by 
a written description. Any frame u.sed in a nucleus should be so made 
that it can ))e used as part of 
a standard-sized frame, or so 
that a num])er of them fit into 
an empty frame; for other- 
wise it is difficult to get them 
filled with honey and brood 
before making up the nuclei. 
The frames of this particular 
nucleus box are one-third 
standard size, and two full 
ones and one only partl}'^ 
built out have given most 
satisfactory results. If the 
))eesare ready to ])uild, some 
j)lace should be left for new 
comb; otherwise they will 
build small coml)s to the 
cover. A feeder is attached 
either to the back of the hive body, or in front over the entrance, and 
these can be filled ver}^ rapidl}^ when feeding is necessary. A colony 
of this size requires nuich less attention in this regard than the smaller 
size, and is correspondingly better. 




F[(;. 17.— Benton mailing cages, showing construction. 
The larger size is for shipment to distant conntries. 
The smaller cage may he used for shipments to Europe 
(original). 



THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 27 

The coml) area is small enoui>h in tiiis hiv^e for the queen to be veiy 
quickly found, and. unless too many hees are put in, this part of the 
manipulation is very sinqjle. The original cost of the hive is consid- 
erably more than that of the smallest sized nuclei, but the body is 
much more dura])le, and the cost as compared with that of the full- 
sized hive, which some breeders use, is small. This mating- box was 
designed b}^ Mr. Frank Benton, of the Bureau of Entomology. It is 
not intended that the inference shall be made that this nucleus box is 
the best in use. It is described merel}" as a guide to queen rearers, 
and any other style of box which combines the good features of this 
one will do equally well. 

No one can deny that queens may be mated in hives smaller than a 
full colony, but a question sometimes arises as to whether the queens 
are as vigorous and prolitic after being mated from small boxes. To 
this, it may be answered that the successful mating of a queen depends 
on the drones which fly in the air; and this is in no way influenced b}^ 
the size of the hive. It takes very few workers to feed a queen — wit- 
ness the mailing boxes — and this is the onl}" function of the accompa- 
nying bees. If then a queen is herself strong and vigorous, and meets 
an equall}^ vigorous drone, she will be successfulU' mated, will be just 
as prolitic, and will lay just as long, when kept in a small colon}' to 
mate as in a full-sized one. From a practical standpoint it ma}- be 
answered that queens mated in small nuclei when put to the test have 
actually proven as good as those mated under other circumstances. 
This is after all the true test to be used. 

php:nomena in mating. 

In from tive to ten days after the emerging of the 3'oung queen 
from the queen cell, she leaves the colony for her mating flight. The 
flrst flights of a queen from the hive are very short, and, like 3'oung 
workers, she flies in circles near the entrance, as if flxing the location. 
Several such flights may l)e taken before she really takes a long one. 
Finalh', however, she leavers the entrance and flies in ever-increasing 
circles upward, and, if there are drones in the apiary or near by, she 
is usually mated. The height to wdiich she flies and the distance from 
the hive at which she meets the drone depend entireh^ on circum- 
stances; it ma}" be near at hand or even a couple of miles away. This 
is a matter very difficult of observation, naturally, but the mating has 
often been observed by chance. It is a very simple matter to see the 
first circles of the virgin on leaving the hive entrance, and if drones 
are plentiful it is not hard to see that many of them start after her. 
Anyone can verify so much; the rest depends on chance observations. 

From dissections of virgins and fertile queens, it has been found 
that, in mating, the spermatheca or seminal receptacle is filled with 
spermatozoa or male sex cells. The spermatheca is a very minute sac 



28 THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 

opening into the oviduct down which the eggs must pass in going from 
the ovaries to the outside of the body. As each egg is laid, if it is to 
be fertilized, it receives one spermatozoon from this spermatheca, and 
the male cell is received into the egg and unites with it. More than 
one spermatozoon may adhere to the outside of the egg^ but no normal 
Qgg will admit more than one through the micropyle or opening in the 
end of the egg covering. 

In mating, the queen receives an enormous number of these sperma- 
tozoa, the number having been estimated at from two to twenty 
million. Since mating usually occurs but once, it is evident that these 
spermatozoa must be capable of independent existence for five years 
or more, for they are not capable of dividing or increasing in number 
in any way, and the queen is of course unable to produce new ones. 
Frequent cases have been reported of queens which have mated more 
than once, and this probably accounts for irregularit}- in the markings 
of the offspring of some queens. It is claimed by some that obviously 
the first mating must have been unsuccessful, but there seems to be 
no ground for that view, and there is no reason to believe that both 
matings were not complete. There is no reason whatever, so far as 
is known, why a queen can not receive a supply of spermatozoa from 
two drones, and some of the arguments to the contrary, with no basis 
of observation or knowledge of the anatomy, are not worthy of con- 
sideration. Cases have even been reported in which queens which 
have actually begun to lay have gone out for a second mating; but the 
evidence is as yet meager, and it will be well to wait for further obser- 
vation before considering such a possibility. Usually, however, a 
queen takes but one mating flight, and thereafter never again leaves 
the hive except with a swarm. The ovaries develop to such an extent 
that flight is impossible, without a previous stoppage in egg laying. 

TESTING aUEENS. 

If the honey producer is rearing queens for his own use, they may 
be introdu(;ed into full colonies as soon as they begin to lay. A fair 
idea of the value of the queen ma}'' be formed from the number and 
regularity of the eggs laid in the nucleus box, and if later she is found 
to be mismated, or not up to the standard in egg laying in a full col- 
ony, she should be discarded. A queen may be tested as to the purity 
of mating by allowing her brood to emerge in a small nucleus, but no 
estimate can be made in this wa}^ concerning her proliflcness. In test- 
ing for pure mating, however, the entrance should be covered with 
perforated zinc to prevent the colony from swarming out. If a queen 
is to be sold as "untested," she may be shipped as soon as she begins 
to lay after mating. Tested queens are those which have been kept 
until their progeny show the markings of pure mating. 



THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 29 

Tested queens which have been kept in full colonies to observe 
purity of mating, and which after one season show that they possess 
abilit}' to produce strong colonies, are sold as "select tested,'" How- 
ever, it is to be feared that some queen breeders are not careful enough 
about this test and that queens are often sold under this guarant}- which 
are simpl}' tested queens one year old, which simply means that their 
life of usefulness is thereby shorter by one year. For breeding, nothing 
but the very beist of " select tested" queens should be used. Great care 
should be exercised in choosing such queens by watching purity of 
mating, proliticness, hone}' production of workers, disposition of bees, 
tendency to keep a very large colony of bees at all seasons ; and especially, 
care should be taken that brood rearing does not cease as soon as the 
honey flow slackens in midsummer. Some bees, otherwise good, will 
stop brood rearing with the tirst sign of a decrease in honey, with the 
result that the colony enters the fall flow with old bees, and that 
scarcely an3^thing but old l^ees are in the colony at the beginning of 
winter. This is probably the essential cause of the excessive death of 
bees in early spring, known as "spring dwindling." 

NECESSITY OF PURE STOCK. 

The necessity of purely -mated queens for breeding can not be too 
emphatically urged. The so-called " hybrids," or mismated queens, 
produce young queens of so much variability in ever}^ character that 
it is verv unwise to use them. There is one phase of queen breeding 
which would doubtless prove useful, but which has not yet been tried 
to any extent. The first crosses of various races have proven very 
useful; as, for example, the cross between Cyprians and Carniolans, 
but no breeder to the writer's knowledge has ever undertaken to flx 
the type. That this could be done seems very probable, reasoning 
from what we know of crosses in other animals, and by careful selec- 
tion of prolittc queens whose workers showed all the characteristics 
of the first cross, these crosses would doubtless prove valuable as 
breeders. Under no other circumstances, however, should mismated 
queens be used. 

SELECTION OF DRONES. 

The selection of drones i.s one of the things in which the vast 
majority of bee keepers are notoriously careless. Queen ]>reeders 
will select a breeding (jueen with great care and allow her progeny to 
mate with drones from any hive in the apiarj?^, and just as long as this 
is done there can be no advance in the tjq^es. Drones should not be 
allowed to fly except from colonies where the queens are prolific and 
the bees good workers, and just as much care should be exercised in 
the choice of colonies for the production of drones as for breeding 



30 THE REARING OF QUEEN BEES. 

queens. The mere fact that mating takes place in the air, out of the 
control of the bee keeper, is no reason why care should not be taken 
in the selection of drones which are allowed to fl}^ in the yard. When 
breeding any race, Italians for example, it is not enough that all the 
drones be Italians; they should be selected as to honey production of 
the workers, proliiicness of the queen, or any other quality which is 
considered in choosing a breeding queen. 

Selection of drones may be accomplished by the use of drone traps 
or by cutting out drone comb. For absolute safet}" the drone trap is 
preferable, since some drone brood may escape observation. When 
most colonies are requeened every season, only queens of breeding 
value should be kept, since old queens produce larger numbers of 
drones. 



INDEX. 

Page. 

Artificial cells ,. 12 

queen rearing 1 0-24 

Age of female larvse, for transfer tn artificial cells 13 

Alley nursery cage 22 

plan, modified 18 

system of cell starting 18 

Benton mating box 26-27 

Breeding queens, mating 24-28 

buying. . 8 

Carniolan bees 8, 1 5, 29 

Caucasian queens 23 

Cell bases 12 

cu]is, artificial ! 12 

introduction 23 

Cells, artificial 12 

' ' Cocoons, ' ' use in transfer of larvaj 19 

Colony, size in mating of queens 24 

Cyprian bees 8, 9, 15, 29 

Doolittle wax cups 12 

Drone comb, use in queen rearing 19 

production, desirability of old queens for 7 

traps, use in selection of drones 30 

Drones, selection 29 

Eggs, queen's age as factor in production 7 

Female larvte alike in early development 9 

Flight of queens 27 

Hive, full, use as mating hive 24 

small, use in mating 26-27 

two-story, for queen rearing 13 

Koney board, for queen rearing 14 

Honey production, frequent requeening for 7 

Hybrids, danger from use 8, 29 

fixing types 29 

Importing queens, desirability 8 

Incubators 19 

Introducing queen eel Is 23 

Italian bees 8, 9 

Larvse, female, age for transfer to artificial cells 13 

alike in early development 9 

Mailing cages 26 

Mating boxes, styles and sizes 24-27 

queens 24-28 

storing in nursery ^ , 23 

31 



32 indp:x. 

Page. 

Mating, second 28 

Natu'-al queen cells, description and number 9 

objections 11 

rearing 9-10 

Nomenclature in queen rearing 11 

Nucleus, small, advantages, disadvantages, and use 24-25 

Nursery cages, different styles compared 20-23 

Odor of queen cell ., 13 

Patents on appliances - 11 

Perforated zinc for protecting cells 14 

Phenomena in mating 27 

Pure races, necessity 29 

Queen buying 8 

cells, completion 1 9-24 

introduction 23 

starting 11 

natural, description and number 9 

disadvantages 11 

rearing, artificial 1 0-24 

natural 9-10 

Queens, death in introduction into hive 24 

importance in honey production 7 

second matings - 28 

Queenlessness 10 

Requeening, frequency and necessity 7 

Royal jelly, effect on larvae 9 

in transferring larvae 13 

supply - 11, 17 

Selection of drones 29 

Spermatheca filled on mating 27 

Stanley cage . . . : 21 

Supersedure, natural method of replacing queen 10 

Swarm box, description and method of use 16 

schedule 18 

Swarming 9 

' ' Swarming impulse " 9 

Swarthmore nucleus box 23 

nursery cage 23 

Testing queens 28-30 

Titoff nursery cage 21 

Transferring larvie, methods and appliances 1 2-1 5 

in swarm box 17 

Tunisian bees 9 

West cell protector 21 



o 



LBFe'07 



^ 



